Nothing but ash
by gunner brat
Summary: It starts with a wedding but sometimes things can go wrong fairly quickly.


Disclaimer:I do not own Harry potter- nor am I making money off of this.

It was something that was hard to admit staring at the red head who stood beside him as the wedding ceremony commenced. His heart raced and his palms sweated and he felt every eye on him as she made her vows. His eyes were only on her but the niggling sense of doubt and worry wouldn't go away. He loved Lily more than life itself and it was a whirlwind romance from the start. He glanced briefly at Severus who was scowling and looking ready to speak out in objection. He repressed his fears and doubt and when it was his turn all the words flew out of his mouth. Struggling with it he stammered before gathering himself. His mouth moved but words didn't come out and it felt so dry he was sure everyone could see him fall apart. Finally he spoke in a shaking voice, his eyes on Lily, his vows and poured his heart out in a trembling voice. His mouth moved before his head and when he was over he looked wide eyed and against all sense waited for her to say no. She didn't and they kissed affirming they were now man and wife. Their magical auras shone brightly in the arc as they mingled during the kiss. It had more shades then the sun rising clearly on the beach. Finally they stepped out of the arc as their auras faded.

It was a beautiful wedding and staring at it from the pensive he wondered if the James in the wedding could see what five years would bring. They were losing the war. He had joined the mass murderer in a misguided attempt to give protection to his family. He had a child. He lost his life and was used to bind his own son's magic. He was an it was kept alive by his 'Master' to keep his son's magic bound until it would kill him when it was unbound. If he tried to get himself killed he would kill his son, and if he wasn't, the Britain Dark Lord would eventually kill him once he was useless.

The pensive was a cruel gift that was given as an award. It had all of his memories until he joined Voldemort. It had memories stolen forcefully from Peter, Sirius, and Remus as well as from former classmates. Peter, the traitor, had paled when he realized who the lich leader was. The man had sold him out- the dark lord gave an oath to not harm his family and the acerbic and the idiot made it impossible to not deal with his son considering how deranged the dark lord was. The solution was use some obscure magic to bind his sons magic by killing the father. As long as James was 'alive' his son would be safe but unable to use magic. He could die but as long as Tom Riddle wanted him there he had no choice.

Peter was given as a gift to James. The rat faced man had failed an essential mission and James as the lead in a mass undead attack succeeded beyond the dark lords expectation. It was an attack on a foreign wizarding fort. Many died in the attack. James was a crowning accomplishment in Voldemort's eyes. He needed a sentient being to lead without any death eater in the line of fire that was bound to him. James was the only successful attempt. The corpse was used to bind Harry's magic as long as James spirit was bound to Tom Riddle. The man was as vile as they came but James was convenient and easy so he simply used him. James worked very hard to both help and undermine the dark lord. He knew that the James defied him in the leeway he gave him when he gave the order and control but it was a short leash. As long as it was Tom Riddle who held it James would yip and sneak some small stuff but work hard so he wasn't punished.

James wasn't pure or good despite the reputation of his family. He was, himself, fairly neutral when alive and leaning more towards the dark then light arts in many ways. He just chose not to use the darker curses when a lighter one would suffice. He had decided to join Voldemort because that was the only way to guarantee his wife and then unborn child's safety. He regretted it but the rush was addictive and satisfying at first. He didn't enjoy torture until Tom Riddle bound him and his sons magic and then it was over. He grew to like it so when Peter was sent down to the red rooms he followed. The apprentice healers to keep prisoners alive were busty regrowing fingernails, healing cut and bloodied skin from whip and knife, and on occasion when it was required brewing limb regrowth and the unique potions that increased sensitivity to pain and physical sensations. Burns were healed badly then better as time went on. Finally a knife to the heart after several months was his final death. He just tore the body apart after that and fed the parts to his brothers and sisters.

He didn't care at that point but when James was released he had earned his scars. He held onto the dimly shining light and his chain was cut. The deed was done and the magic that held his son's magic bound was freed. He didn't have enough time to return to sanity before the dark orb vanished imploding within moments. Tom riddle looked on smug and satisfied. The boy was probably dead by now. He had Britain, half the magic that James had, youthful immortality and if the boy was alive then he was no threat to the empire he had built.

Harry Potter woke up with fire running through his veins, ice coating his skin, and hyper-sensitivity to everything around him. He could feel his pulse as if his heart rate was over 175 bpm, pain fogging his senses, and every breath he took in as it changed from negative twenty degrees to one-ninety in a instant. He blacked out as his mind couldn't handle the stimulus and became comatose. Power rolled through him and he didn't make a sound his bones and skin tore and broke from the strain becoming stronger as it reformed becoming stronger, flawless, and new. Everything near him simply disintegrated while the rest burned in a brilliant white/blue flame that not even ash was left. It fought against the walls as the wards successfully contained the exponential burst of magical energy. Finally the wards gave and the flame consumed everything, living and dead until nothing was left but a crater.

The explosion was felt miles away and people near it had no chance. The magical blue flames spread and losing power at a rapid pace until it disappeared with everything within a few miles of the disappearing wave burning suddenly. Houses, cars, animals, and people burned as the cries of the dead and dying filled the air. It was a terrible sound like the rumbling of earth as magma flowed from an erupting volcano and the sound of people and things exploding mingled until it simply became one painful ear-splitting sound. Displaced ash fell the remnants of whatever was left until it met the ground and vanished. Magic scorched the earth but didn't pierce as it burned then removed any proof of existence until it simply ran out of energy.

Finally the eerie silence as it the invisible force that ravaged the earth disappeared. The epicenter was 100 foot crater with miles of flat scorched earth like wide dot on a map that was filled with nothing but sand that was surrounded by forest. The blast destroyed the capital city that the Dark Lord lived along with many innocent lives. Nothing survived except the strange human like crystal figure who looked like it was just about to wake and some ash.


End file.
